Amplats halts operations at South African mine after heavy rains

Anglo American Platinum said it had halted operations at its Tumela mine in South Africa on Thursday after excessive rains caused flooding, though the company maintained its production forecast for the year.

The world’s top producer of platinum group metals (PGM) used to curb vehicle emissions said in a statement that heavy rains in the northern part of South Africa over the past week had caused widespread flooding.

Tumela mine, the smaller underground operation in Amplats’ Amandelbult complex, was the most impacted, it said.

Operations in the rest of the complex, including the main Dishaba mine, the concentrator and other infrastructure, were largely unaffected and operations there had resumed on Monday after a temporary pause.

A detailed impact assessment and recovery plan to ensure safe production at Tumela mine, which produces about 10% of Amplats’ monthly metal-in-concentrate, was under way.

“Preliminary indications are that the 2025 metal-in-concentrate production guidance of 3 million to 3.4 million PGM ounces is not expected to be impacted,” Amplats said.

Amplats on February 17 reported a 40% decline in profit for 2024 to 8.4 billion rand ($458.56 million) as lower PGM prices continue to hurt its income.

($1 = 18.3184 rand)

(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Aidan Lewis)